Inside the Opening of the World’s First Waste Plastics-to-SAF Pilot Facility
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Clean Planet Technologies is today looking back at the opening of its new Sustainability Innovation Centre at Discovery Park in Sandwich, Kent, and paying a special thanks to its VIP guests.
The Centre is the world’s first pilot facility dedicated to converting non-recyclable waste plastics into Sustainable Aviation Fuel, and was formally opened in April 2026. The event brought together representatives from government, aviation, plastics, local leadership and industry to mark an important step forward for Clean Planet Technologies’ waste-plastics-to-SAF pathway.
The opening day included remarks from a number of invited VIP speakers, each highlighting a different part of the challenge the Centre has been created to address.
Sir Roger Gale MP welcomed Clean Planet Technologies to the area and spoke about the significance of bringing innovative clean technology to East Kent.
Cllr Emmet Csuka, Mayor of Sandwich, also welcomed the Centre locally, recognising the role that Discovery Park and the wider Sandwich community can play in supporting new environmental technologies.
Matthew C. Jee, Director of the UK SAF Clearing House, spoke about the importance of supporting new SAF pathways through testing, validation and qualification. The UK SAF Clearing House, funded by the Department for Transport, has already provided funding support to Clean Planet Technologies to help accelerate fuel testing and progression through the ASTM qualification process.
Helen Jordan of the British Plastics Federation addressed the scale of the UK’s waste plastics challenge, including the need for practical solutions for materials that cannot currently be mechanically recycled. Her remarks highlighted the importance of innovation that can turn low-value plastic waste into higher-value products.
Captain Sarah Brodie of Sustainable Aviation spoke about the role of Sustainable Aviation Fuel in reducing the lifecycle carbon emissions of aviation, and the need for new technologies and feedstocks to support the sector’s decarbonisation goals.
Dr Andrew Odjo, CEO of Clean Planet Technologies and Group CTO of Clean Planet Group, said:
“Opening the Sustainability Innovation Centre was an important milestone for Clean Planet Technologies and for the wider development of waste-plastics-to-SAF. The support and insight from our guest speakers helped demonstrate that this is not just a technology project, but part of a wider national and international effort to reduce plastic waste and decarbonise aviation.”
The Sustainability Innovation Centre brings together pyrolysis, purification, distillation and hydroprocessing in a single pilot-scale system. It is designed to support feedstock testing, fuel sample production, technical validation and progression through the SAF qualification pathway.
Dr Katerina Garyfalou, Chief Operating Officer of Clean Planet Technologies, added:
“We are very grateful to Sir Roger Gale MP, Matthew Jee, Cllr Emmet Csuka, Helen Jordan and Captain Sarah Brodie for joining us and contributing to the opening of the Centre.
Their participation reflected the important connections between local leadership, government-backed fuel qualification, the plastics industry and the aviation sector. These links are essential as we move from pilot-scale validation towards commercial deployment.”
Clean Planet Technologies will continue to use the Centre to develop its waste-plastics-to-SAF platform, while also supporting future work into other pathways such as waste-plastics-to-hydrogen and waste-plastics-to-monomers.
The opening video captures highlights from the day, including the formal ribbon cutting, guest speeches, facility tours and the first public presentation of the Centre’s role in turning non-recyclable waste plastics into lower-carbon aviation fuel.
